Spenser's Nepenthe
Spenser's Nepenthe is one of the carnivorous plants of the Hedge. Overview This plant mimics desperation and feigns a person crying out for help. The Hedge is home to many carnivorous plants, and this is one of them — this one actually buries itself in the ground or in a Hedge wall, and mimics the shape of a long, slender pit with slick sides. Once someone drops into the pit, it mists them with a faint cloud of shimmering pollen... and the pollen forces them to sink into forgetful numbness. Appearances For the most part, only the lip of the plant is visible — just a curled cusp of damp and dewy green with the faintest fringe of red. However, it’s what’s in the pit of the plant’s belly that matters. The pit is dark, held to deep shadow. The Nepenthe has a hungry floral tongue whose blooming flowers can blossom and shape themselves into the silhouette of a person. The plant then waggles this person-shaped shadow about, mimicking someone who’s been trapped down in the deep pit (approximately 10 yards deep, or about 30 feet). The simulacrum “reaches up” and tries to get someone to lower a rope or come down and help him out. The voice that cries out is, quite literally, voices stolen from those who have been trapped prior… meaning that it’s not altogether impossible that the changeling will recognize the voice of someone who’s been slowly digested by the plant. Character Sheet Average Spenser's Nepenthe Mental Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 3, Resolve 3 Physical Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 1, Stamina 5 Social Attributes: Presence 1, Manipulation 3, Composure 1 Mental Skills: None Physical Skills: None Social Skills: Expression (Mimic) 5 Merits: None Willpower: 4 Virtue: Fortitude Vice: Gluttony Initiative: 2 Defense: 1 Size: 10 Speed: 0 Health: 15 Wyrd: 1 Contracts: None Glamour/per Turn: 10/1 Armor:4 Fae Aspects • Digest: Over time, those trapped in the bowels of the plant start to be digested. Technically, though, the plant begins to digest inorganic matter first — every 10 minutes, the plant eats one point of Structure from all inorganic or unliving items. Once the character is basically naked, its nectar juices (which smell potent and sweet, see below) start to work on human flesh — it causes one point of lethal damage per hour. • Mimic: Spend a point of Glamour and roll Manipulation + Expression versus a character’s Wits + Empathy. If the plant is successful, the mimic is complete — both the voice and the moving shadow of its tongue appear human and in need of help. It should be noted that the plant cannot manufacture new words — it can “answer” a character’s questions, but only with things that have been said (or screamed) within its digesting depths. • Slick Sides: The internal walls of the plant’s pit run with oozing nectar. This makes rolls to climb out very difficult, equal to a –5 dice penalty on the Climbing roll. In addition, climbing out can cause minor burns to the hands — on every attempt, the character suffers one point of bashing damage. • Soporific: The plant gives off a sweet-smelling perfume from an exhalation of shimmering nectar. Treat this like a substance with Toxicity 4, but instead of delivering damage it incurs dice penalties equal to the Toxicity level, though these penalties are only to Mental rolls. Any who escape the carnivorous plant suffer a persistent –1 penalty to all Mental rolls for the next 12 hours due to a degree of fogginess from lingering pollen inhalation. References *Dancers in the Dusk, p. 118 Category:Hobgoblin (CTL) Category:Hedge (CTL)